Gravity
by cole-lit
Summary: Five times gravity was optional for Robin and one time it ambushed him. (From yj anon meme)


**Prompt:** (from yj anon meme) 5 times that gravity was optional for Robin, and one time it ambushed him. Because acrobats and their casual disregard for the law of gravity is always sexy.

**Notes:** S1, before Artemis. And it came out weird. Meh.

_**1.**_

"What are you afraid of?" his dad asked, swinging towards Dick for the second time with his arms reaching for Dick while his knees were draped on the trapeze bar.

"We're so high up!" Dick answered back, his feet firmly staying on the platform. He watched as his dad swung back and part of him wondered if his dad would get dizzy, acting like a swing.

"So?" His mom asked him. She was half-kneeling beside him instead of being on the trapeze with his dad. She seemed to understand him better than his dad. She understood what it was like to be afraid.

"I might fall," he half-whispered to her.

"My silly little robin," she sighed, gathering him into her arms and hugging him. Then, she pulled back to look at him straight in the eyes as she said, "You are a Grayson." She turned him around so he would face his dad, who was reaching out to him for the third time. As she gave him a gentle push to remind him when to jump, she added, "We don't fall."

And because his parents were always right (except about veggies and baths), he jumped.

Then he understood: his dad won't get dizzy and he wouldn't fall. They were Graysons. They belong in the air.

He knew that now because when he jumped, he didn't fall.

_We fly._

_**2.**_

Bruce's heart stopped, either in fear or something else, when he saw his young ward jump from the banister rail, which he had no doubt the child slid down from. No, he didn't just jump; he leaped.

No, _he flew._

Bruce had a sudden understanding of what it meant to have a Flying Grayson in his home because somehow, the child was able to reach the high-hanging chandelier with no tool or aid.

Maybe his heart stopped not in fear but in envy.

He was Batman; and as a bat, he should be able to fly, or at least move across Gotham's rooftops efficiently and effectively. And despite being trained by the best in this world had to offer, he could never achieve that level of effortlessness (never mind that casual grace) that his ward, Richard (Dick as he wanted to be called), had even while he was hanging by the chandelier and swinging as if he was on a trapeze.

And then Bruce realized, as Dick let go of the swinging chandelier and tossed himself towards the draperies, it was neither fear nor envy that stopped his heart.

It was awe, pure unadulterated awe for Dick's ability - or rather inability - to bow down to gravity's whims. He wasn't a slave to the harsh mistress, unlike the rest of the world. Though the price he (his parents) paid for his freedom was high. (Too high.)

Or maybe, as Dick latched on to the heavy curtains and treated them like rope with a giggle and a grin, gravity (and tragedy because they were intertwined for him) had no hold on him. He was above it (them).

And if that wasn't awe-inspiring, he didn't know what was.

_**3.**_

It started out as a simple reconnaissance mission, but then, they always start out like that. Robin would hack their systems and get the information they needed while the rest of the team would scout the base.

Personally, she thought that the rest of the team should have waited in the bioship while Robin when down. But Kaldur was the leader and he felt that Robin should have ground support if (when) trouble happened.

Though she hasn't known Robin for long (or any of them, at that), and despite his tendency to disappear, she knew he would reappear when they needed him, like when they were about to leave.

Then Superboy got the attention of a guard or ten (which was no surprise because only Robin had any semblance of stealth on the team, despite her powers). They had to retreat because they couldn't possibly fight against a whole base full of people. They were only five kids, and only four of them had powers.

As the four of them rushed to their rendezvous point (well, three since Wally was Kid Flash for a reason), she was reestablishing her mindlink with Robin, who had to get out of her range because the base was enormous.

It was hard to set up the link because for mind connections to work, she needed a level of openness. And though unintentional, Robin's mind was so closed off, so guarded. She felt that it was for her own good though, because he has already faced so much, knew so much, experienced so much (too much even). Sometimes, she wondered how someone so small could contain so much.

And though she hasn't linked up with their youngest member, she didn't worry much. The four of them were at the rendezvous point and she knew Robin would reappear soon enough.

_Then she saw him_.

It was just like in the movies where the hero would jump out of a window mere moments before the building explodes in a fiery inferno. Except this was real life and that was Robin jumping out of a window that was fifteen, twenty stories high.

All of them were rooted to their spots because that was Robin and he was falling. It was like watching a train crash. But it wasn't a train that was going to crash, it was Robin.

Panic reigned because Robin, despite his skill and experience, was only human. He couldn't fly like her. He didn't have super healing like Wally for when (because he will) he landed. He wasn't indestructible or near it like Superboy, or to a lesser extent, Kaldur. He was only _human_ and he was _falling_ and _he could die_.

Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Grief, helplessness, horror, hopelessness, all these and more were invading her mind and she could barely keep up the link (much less her shape).

She needed a breather, something to counteract all these negative emotions so she could keep hold of her (shape) powers.

She immediately found one, something positive that she couldn't name but recognized. The nearest she could compare it with was when J'onn (Uncle J'onn now) calls her his niece. Or when the team welcomed (welcomes) her. Or when they eat her cookies even though they're burnt, undercooked, or just wrong. Or when Superboy smiles because he would experience something akin to this.

But all of them pale in comparison to whatever this was.

It was joy, hope, happiness, love, and more rolled into one. If she could name it with one word, the closest would be _life_.

A giggle echoed from the link and she could recognize that laugh anywhere. The mind she latched on to was Robin's.

She looked at him, really looked at him. And though she was too far to see his face, she knew he was happy. (She could feel it so strongly from their mind link, the strongest one she's ever established with any Earthling.)

She could see it in the way his body moved: the way he twisted and turned in a playful, almost joyous manner so that he would be falling head first. Then he held his cape back and straightened his body so that he was falling at terminal velocity.

He was falling head first at terminal velocity and he was happy. In fact, he was more than that. He was brimming, overflowing with life.

Then at ten-nine-eight feet off the ground, Robin slows down as if gravity loosened its hold on him for a moment, just a moment but it was more than enough. He flipped himself upright slowly, gracefully even, as if he had all the time in the world before he landed gently and softly on his feet. Then, he rolled forward (towards them) once-twice-thrice, stopping midway by placing his palms on the ground and pushing himself a few feet off the ground (as if he wasn't been in the air long enough). He did four somersaults before landing in front of the team on his feet.

"Come on, guys! We gotta outfiltrate this place ASAP!" he said to the team before running towards the bioship.

Wally was the first to shake of his shock and yelled at his best friend, "Rob! Dude! Bro! What the fuck! You were just falling to your death and now you're-" He flapped his arms as if they could replace the words he couldn't find to describe Robin.

Robin stopped and looked back at Wally with the most confused expression on his face. "What are you talking about, KF?"

"You were just falling-" Kid Flash yelled back but Robin interrupted him.

"Dude, I don't do falling."

"Then what do you call what you were doing earlier?" Superboy asked, frustrated at Robin's nonchalance. (Then again, he was frustrated at most things.)

"Flying," he answered with a grin. It was not his usual mischievous grin. This one was more honest, more open, more.

And, hello Megan. There weren't four superpowered members on the (her) team. There were five.

_**4.**_

It was hard being a solo hero. But Red Arrow, Roy, had to show the League that he wasn't just a sidekick. None of them were; they were more than that. And he couldn't understand why they were letting the League order them around, treating them like sidekicks.

As he finally knocked out the last mook, he let out a sigh of relief. He accidentally triggered the security system (stupid motion sensors) and so he had to fend off the mooks while trying to escape. Well, he was done fending off (more like knocking out, but same difference) the mooks, so now it was time to escape.

"Roy!"

After he dealt with the last one. (Don't they run out of mooks?)

In hindsight, he should have realized that none of his enemies would call him by his first name so familiarly. (But in his defense, he just came from a fight and was running on adrenaline, so he couldn't help but automatically shoot at the incoming aerial "enemy".) It would have saved him a lot of trouble and arrows (mainly arrows because he was trouble personified) if he realized that he was firing at a friend. Though, it was probably a good thing that it was Robin he was firing at and not his other friends (though it wasn't a good thing to fire at any of his friends, in fact, it was bad) because he kept missing Robin.

He wasn't missing per se. In fact, if his target was anyone else but Robin, it would have been a one-hit kill. (Not literally of course. He was a hero and he had morals.) But Robin, the little bat-trained bird, kept twisting and moving in a seemingly impossible manner because he was fairly sure that the human body cannot move like that (as if gravity had no hold on him), as he dodged Roy's arrow even at point blank, until he landed on Roy's back, latching on like a koala.

It figured that gravity was optional for Robin.

"What do you want?" he asked as he turned his head to glare at the grinning Robin, who could laugh even with the full force of the Batglare directed at him. So he gave a grudging grin instead.

"It's movie night!" Robin answered happily as he tightened his already tight (but not choking) hold.

"Where?" he asked as he put his arms under Robin's knees though he knew that the kid won't (can't) fall.

"Your place!" Robin said and he grunted as he walked homebound. He didn't bother asking how Robin (and Wally because they're as thick as thieves and ignores the sting knowing that it used to be the three of them) knew where he lived and where he was at the moment. He also didn't ask why they suddenly restarted their weekly tradition of movie night (which he sorely missed though he hasn't said anything).

He didn't ask stupid questions, so instead he asked, "What's the movie?"

"Twilight."

Roy stopped to look back and gape at Robin. He suddenly had this urge to "accidentally" drop the grinning troll on his back.

"Aww, you're no fun," Robin said as if he could read Roy's mind. "Did you leave your sense of humor when you left us?" And despite his grin and light-hearted tone, Roy heard the pain and loss. (And hasn't the kid lost enough already?) He tightened his grip on Robin.

"For someone so smart, that was a pretty stupid question. I left the league. I didn't leave you guys."

_**5.**_

"What's taking daddy bats so long?" the Joker asked contemplatively as he walked around Robin. Though he didn't say anything, he also wondered the same thing. The two of them were on the top of the Wayne Tower, it shouldn't be too hard to find them. But evidence proved otherwise because they've been together for some time now, about an hour or two if his internal clock wasn't mistaken. (But it felt longer, much longer.)

He hoped that Batman would arrive soon because he was fairly sure that his ribs (and the rest of his body while he was at it) can't spend anymore quality time with the Joker and his crowbar.

"Hey! Boy Blunder!" he said as he looked at Robin with a manic glint in his eyes and a psychotically wide grin. (But then again, that was his default expression, so what else was new?) "You're a bird, aren't you?"

Robin paled (huh, he still had blood to lose) as he realized where this conversation was heading to.

The Joker's smile turned into a snarl was he back-handed Robin in the face. And though he didn't fight against the hit, he didn't let himself collapse, though it was getting harder and harder to stay kneeling especially with his wrists bound behind him and ankles tied together. "Tsk, tsk," he said as his expression smoothed out and looked at Robin with a disappointed frown. "Didn't your daddy Bats teach you any manners?" he said as he held onto Robin's chin so his masked gaze would stare directly into the Joker's eyes. "When Uncle Jay asks you a question, you answer," he continued as he let go of Robin.

"So let me ask again: You. Are. A. Bird. Ar. En't. You" he asked, each syllable punctuated with a hit by the crowbar.

Robin wheezed as he let himself collapse (never mind that the Joke would hurt him even more for not kneeling) before opening his mouth. "Last I checked, that's what a robin is," he said with a grin, hoping that he had enough false bravado to fool himself (because it didn't matter whether the Joker was fooled or not) that everything will be all right. That Batman will come in the nick of time to save (him) the day.

The Joker made a contemplative sound before grabbing a clump of Robin's short black hair, his fingers digging painfully (but then, everything was painful) into his scalp, lifting Robin until his feet were dangling and he was eye-to-eye with the Joker. "Robin's your name, isn't it? I keep forgetting, it's just so forgettable, Bird Boy," he rambled as he dropped his arm (and Robin with it) before walking towards the tower with Robin in tow.

"Well, since you're a bird, you should be able to fly!" he said excitedly as he dangled Robin over the dge by his hair. Before Robin could push his (heavily injured) body back to the (meager) safety the rooftop offered, the Joker grinned and let go with a cackle.

"So fly!"

But he wasn't flying.

He was falling.

But he's a Flying Grayson.

But he was still falling.

So he must not be a Flying Grayson.

Because they never fall.

They only fly until the(ir) end.

But he was falling.

And he was afraid.

He doesn't want to be afraid anymore.

He doesn't want to fall anymore.

So he stops.

And he _soars_.

For the first time in a very long while (since his parents' deaths, actually), he can really breathe. For the first time, he can finally _live_.

As he tested his bonds, he realized that they weren't tight nor painful. (There was no place for tightness and pain here where freedom, his freedom, reigned supreme.) It was just a simple matter of wriggling (and maybe twisting, turning, and popping a few joints while he was at it) out of the ropes, and soon (but it didn't matter because time had no meaning here) the ropes were surrounding him but not attached to him. But he was still rushing to the ground, which was only a few dozen stories away.

He gathered all the rope, which took some more twisting and flipping, and tied them together to make a long lasso. He tossed it towards one of the protruding ledges of the nearer buildings, which was still several dozen feet away from him. (But distance had no meaning here.)

The rope did its job well and instead of suddenly stopping (by the ground), he swung so he would land on one of the rooftops.

He landed on a rooftop without his usual grace and elegance. He knew that none of his movements were graceful nor elegant. But whatever he lacked, he made up with the sheer fact that he was alive.

He let out a euphoric giggle, not caring if he would bother anyone in the middle of the night, before looking up at the Joker, who was dozens of stories above him. Then he shouted, "So what do you think, Uncle Jay? How was that for flying?"

But he didn't fly.

He soared.

And that was so much better.

_**1.**_

His parents were right, they always were.

A Grayson doesn't fall, they fly.

When the wire snapped, he didn't (want to) see the horror etched on their faces as they were rushing to the ground (because he can't call it falling). Instead, he saw the certain grace that they still (always) carried. That certain elegance that couldn't be found in those who simply fell.

They weren't falling. They were flying. Their very last flight.

Which made sense because a Grayson didn't (couldn't) fall. For them, flying was living and so they (he) would keep flying until the (his) very end.

_**Bonus.**_

"Ow."

"What happened, Robin?"

"I...tripped."

"...What? You tripped? Mister I'm-a-freaking-acrobat-slash-aerialist-and-so-tripping-is-not-in-my-very-extensive-vocabulary-unlike-mere-mortals?"

"Gravity ambushed me, okay!"


End file.
